Guide:
I-270 is kind of a quirky route. I'm not sure what role the
designers thought it would fill. One guess I can make is
that it shortens the trip from I-25 and the North Front
Range to the northeast side of the metro (Stapleton
Airport), but if it had connected to I-25 and I-70 about
four miles further north and east, respectively, it would
have been a lot more useful. However, that alignment would
have been impossible, because the Rocky Mountain Arsenal was
in the way. E-470 will now be basically filling the role a
better-located I-270 should have.

Anyways, I-270 begins at I-25 Exit 217, with the freeway
continuing westward as US 36, the Boulder Turnpike. At the I-25 interchange one
cannot go from WB I-270 to SB I-25 or from NB I-25 to EB I-270; to do that I-76 has to be utilized. I-270
then goes southeast to I-76 which is also a partial
interchange. Then it crosses Clear Creek and starts to go
through refinery row in Commerce City.

York
Street there is another partial interchange, with a WB offramp and EB
onramp. At Vasquez Blvd., that is a cloverleaf. The loop ramps have
20mph advisory speeds and are very tight. Vasquez Blvd. is referred to
on signs as US 85/SH 2, even though it is actually US 6-85/SH 2. I-270
then ends at a partial interchange with I-70 in the northeast part of
Denver. One can only go from WB 70 to WB 270 and EB 270 to EB 70. If
one wants to do something else, Quebec Street must be utilized. The
interchange at I-70 and I-270 incorporates a couple of braid ramps with
the I-70/Central Park Blvd interchange.

Photo Gallery:

I-270
East, I-25 North.Eastbound right at the
point over I-25 where US 36 becomes I-270 and the ramp to
northbound I-25 peels off to the right. On the left side
is a "Begin Future 270 East" sign still partially
covered. (August 2003)

End
I-270/Begin US 36. An attempt to take a picture
of the END 270 sign on WB 270 at 55mph. This is at I-25,
and a BEGIN WEST 36 sign can be seen at left. The problem
with that sign is that the banners are not the right size
for the oversized US 36 shield. (February 2001)

East
of I-25. Eastbound I-270 east of I-25 on brand
new concrete the same day it opened to traffic. Mop up
work is still going on in the right lane. Lots of unused
concrete is off to the left side for when the ramp from
southbund I-25 will tie in to I-270 creating more lanes.
(August 2003)

Temporary
Signs. Blurry picture of temporary signs showing
the left ramp to I-76 and US 36 westbound, and the
straight ahead ramp to I-25 northbound. These signs were
for a temporary condition during construction of the
westbound direct connection. (October 1999)

Vasquez
Overhead Signs. Eastbound I-270 at the overhead
signs for the Vasquez Boulevard cloverleaf. Note US 85
and SH 2 are shown, but US 6 is missing. Photo courtesy
David Herrera. (July 2003)

I-70/I-270.
Here's the signing for I-270 as seen at the exit on WB
I-70. In the background the overpass is what takes EB 270
to EB 70. (February 2001)

History:I-270 started being built in the late 1960s. The section
from I-70 to Vasquez opened by 1968, and it opened up to
I-76 by 1970. As originally built, I-270 started at a
trumpet interchange on I-76 just east of I-25. Two lanes
from eastbound I-76 blended off and become I-270, while from
I-270 the two lanes merged onto westbound I-76, but those
immediately became the exit lanes for northbound I-25 and
westbound US 36.

Westbound US 36 connection history: In September 1999,
the connection from WB I-270 to NB I-25 opened. If you
wanted US 36, you still had to take the former route that
mainline I-270 took west onto I-76. Then in mid-February
2000, the full westbound connection finally opened. Also
opening was an exit from WB I-270 to Broadway. At the same
time, several other things happened: A new exit from I-76
westbound to I-270 westbound opened, and the preexisting
exit from westbound I-76 to NB I-25 and WB US 36 closed.
Also the ramp from WB US 36 to Broadway closed, replaced by
a new exit from NB I-25 to 70th Avenue.

As for the eastbound connection, the full connection from
US 36 to EB I-270 opened August 16, 2003. No other ramp
openings or closings happened with that, though.

The final ramp opening to complete the overall I-25/76/270/US
36 reconstruction occurred on August 4, 2008. That morning the flyover
from EB I-270 to EB 76 opened. The flyover allowed traffic on SB I-25
and US 36 to get to EB I-76 without having to use the awful two-lane
20mph loop ramp at I-76. The flyover completed another of CDOT's 28
high priority projects.

In October 2011 the I-70 and Central Park Blvd interchange
opened, a completely new crossroad. The opening forced reconstruction
of the ramps from I-270 to I-70, incorporating braid ramps for Central
Park. The reconstruction effectively moved I-270's end point a half
mile east along I-70.

History:SH 278 became a state highway in 1939. Paved by 1947.
Went from US 34 on the west side of Grand Lake east to the
central part of town. Dale Sanderson notes that in addition
to serving Grand Lake, it served the west portal of the Alva
Adams Tunnel, the major transfer point for water from the
West Slope to Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
reservoirs in the east. Turned back in 1986.

Location: Central City/Idaho Springs (Central Mountains)

HistorySH 279
became a state highway in 1939, going from Squaw Pass north to Idaho
Springs, north via Virginia Canyon to Central City, then northwest to
Apex, taking over part of SH 119 in Virginia Canyon. By 1954 almost all of SH 279
had been turned back, except for a section from Black Hawk southwest
through Central City for 3mi. By 1958 all that was left was from Black
Hawk into downtown Central City.

Up through the next several decades, the exact routing of
SH 279 was from Black Hawk *1.09mi west into Central
City, using Gregory Street. When it got to Central City,
SH 279 split onto two one-way streets with westbound
on Lawrence, eastbound on Gregory, and a rock-filled ravine
in between. Westbound went to Main St., where it turned left
(south), and went for two blocks to Spring St. Spring St.
then was eastbound 279, and went north for one block
to Gregory, then right (east) back out of town. There were
also two Spur SH 279
routes, which went in between the two directions of SH
279: One on Spring Street, the other on D Street.

SH 279 was turned back sometime in the late 1999.
It does not appear in CDOT's 2000 traffic database.

Location: Northern MountainsAlignment: Spur from US 34 south of Rocky Mountain
National Park east to KaRose

Location: Eastern MountainsAlignment: Was a spur that went both north and south
from US 6 at Georgetown. The north branch went north to a
point ~1mi north of Empire, while the south branch went to
Waldorf.

Guide:From US 50, SH 291 heads north on
Oak St., then turns northwest on 1st St., going through downtown
Salida. SH 291 parallels the Arkansas River, heading northwest through
farm pasture and hooking up with US 285 between Poncha Springs and
Buena Vista. SH 291 is a major route, connecting Chaffee County's two
main population centers.

Photo Gallery:

North End SH 291.
Northbound on the slip ramp from SH 291 to US 285 features this end
sign. Mileage sign on US 285 to the next towns visible. Photo by Dale
Sanderson. (September 2013)

History:What is now SH 291 was originally the only highway route
between Poncha Springs and Buena Vista, via Salida, and was
numbered SH 15. The alignment became part of US
650 in 1928, and then was renumbered as part of US 285
in 1935.

SH 291 first appeared in 1939, and went from Poncha
Springs north to Buena Vista, bypassing Salida. In 1942, US
285 and SH 291 were reversed, giving US 285 the more direct
route between Poncha Springs and Buena Vista.

Location: Central MountainsAlignment: Link between SH 291 and US 285, north of
Poncha Springs and Salida

Location: Central Mountains1939 Alignment: Spur from US 6-24 at Dowds Junction east up Gore Creek. Vail didn't exist yet.1940-1953 Alignment: Link from US 24 at Red Cliff east to US 6
at Vail Pass via Shrine Pass.

Location: Central MountainsAlignment: Spur from US 6 east of Keystone southeast
to Montezuma

Location: Central MountainsAlignment: Spur northeast from US 6 at Dillon

Location: Central MountainsAlignment: Spur from SH 9 north of Breckenridge east
to Tiger